Metamorphosis towards sustainability
There are many new hotels already are born sustainable , but what about those who have been working for years and who also want to be?
We spoke with Elena Totorica , director of the Eco-Hotel Doña Mayor, opened in 2008 but to which she arrived in 2013. “This hotel belonged to an acquaintance of my family and, after a few years, he wanted to sell it. I was 21 , I was studying Business Administration and Management, I had the opportunity to manage it … and my family supported me.”
Elena Totorica started running her hotel in 2013
The Eco-Hotel Doña Mayor is in Fromista , in the region Palencia from Tierra de Campos. That's where he goes Camino de Santiago (French way) and that is why they have traditionally had many international guests (before the pandemic, the French, English, Germans, Italians and Americans accounted for 75%) but, since 2020, they receive above all local travelers (Madrid, Basque Country or Asturias).
"It's people who appreciate nature very much and the historical heritage of the area (we will never get tired of saying that the Palencia Romanesque is a jewel), because although from the outside you think that Palencia is just wheat It has enormous potential."
Elena, since she took the reins of this 12 room country hotel , has been making small big changes in a gratifying (and necessary) way towards sustainability. And she has shared with us this roadmap in the form of a timeline that she makes us reflect and inspires us:
2013
“We install dispensers to reduce waste generated by the amenities single-use, although the transition was not easy at all: for a year I had to return to traditional amenities due to criticism. We are not used to it, but we should reflect on it. Now we only use glass dispensers and containers. That year we also created a waste recycling plan: we collect the oil, we separate plastic, glass or cardboard and organic waste employees take them for their animals.”
Traditional amenities were removed from the rooms
2014
“We hired green electric power and we build by hand the furniture of the terrace and part of the restaurant from recycling used pellets.
2015
“We install solar panels high performance for hotel water heating, that reduce the use of nonrenewable energy. At that time there were no eco-hotels, but there were solar panels. With the number of hours of sunshine that there is in Palencia, it did not make sense not to use that resource”.
2017
“We put automatic irrigation in the garden to avoid unnecessary consumption of water.
Elena Totorica
2019
“We install fireplaces additional pallets , considered clean and renewable energy, in the common areas of the hotel as a substitute for traditional heating”.
2020
“We introduced more products from the area in our breakfast: bread made in Frómista by a fifth-generation traditional bakery (Salazar Bakery), sausages and cheeses from the area, seasonal fruits , homemade cake… And, as amenities, too organic cosmetics that Lydia García , who is part of the hotel team (and who also gives reflexology massages), makes with natural products, such as garden lavender , under her own brand, Granny Ceiba”.
2021
“We have signed an agreement with the Global Nature Foundation to publicize them (on social networks and in the hotel itself, inviting customers to visit the wetlands they conserve) and carry out actions to raise funds for them. We are also finalizing another collaboration with the company Reforestum to offer guests the possibility of acquiring bits of forest to offset their carbon footprint. The one they are currently planting is in Palencia, in Calahorra de Boedo.
Castile Channel
The current and permanent great challenge? raise awareness Elena tells us about how difficult it is to change the mentality of travelers: “although many clients only want Orange juice , we make seasonal juice, with different fruits depending on the season”.
Therefore, in his breakfast menu her, she has incorporated a clear message: "by consuming seasonal juice, the fruit is fresh and more sustainable, since for its commercialization it is waste less energy (transport, distribution and storage). We recommend consuming a juice at each season: in spring and autumn, orange; in summer, watermelon and in autumn, carrot and mint”.
Pallets are a staple of garden furniture
The offer of local activities, of proximity and related to the enhancement of heritage and nature , beyond the traditional ones, is another of the added and differentiating values of the Eco-Hotel Doña Mayor. When Elena tells us everything with her contagious enthusiasm, the Castilla of our imaginary seems different. Thanks to young entrepreneurs like her (Elena does not reach 30), Castilla is already another.
“We offer visits to local producers (to Fromista cheese factory or to traditional wineries in Torquemada), to the Santoyo Palomar Interpretation Center and dovecote routes, electric boat rides (ecofriendly) through the Canal de Castilla, excursions to see the stars at the Starlight monument in San Pedro Cultural in Becerril de Campos or to visit the town of Herrera de Pisuerga and its River Crab Interpretation Center or its archaeological classroom.
Juices made with seasonal fruit for breakfast
Also sports, such as canoeing (with Natural Active Tourism), hiking along the Camino de Santiago and the Camino Lebaniego Castilian and the Canal de Castilla, which is another of the claims, or bird watching with WilexTours, as well as cycling with Sendalibre Cycling&Tours, because the Route 1 of Eurovelo passes through here”. The Eco-Hotel Doña Mayor has the Bike Friendly seal or chargers for electric bikes.
Frómista wheat fields
Here, connection and commitment to nature are part of the essence. The Doña Mayor Eco-Hotel is also Starlight Accommodation: “We have adhered to the Declaration on the Defense of the Night Sky and the Right to Starlight, thus ensuring that we want to protect it from light pollution. It is also about promote astronomy through activities and materials (binoculars, telescope...).
Us we offer a meeting on astrotourism in each season of the year, with activities for all audiences, from expert observers to people who have never observed the sky”.
Elena has more ideas than minutes in the day. She now she is also the Vice President of the National Association of Coliving and Coworking.
“We are promoting the adaptation of * coworking * spaces in rural accommodation to fight against depopulation, generating flexible housing opportunities in the villages, collaborative work spaces and, in general, a approach to rural life to people who want to telecommute from here”. In fact, she already has coliving stay offers available on the web.
Detail of one of the rooms
The Eco-Hotel Doña Mayor is open from March to November, but its sustainable philosophy continues throughout the year. “ I want to show that if a small rural hotel with few resources can do it, everyone can”. Can.